Harness frame connector



April 27, 1954 P. c. CONSOLETTI HARNESS FRAME CONNECTOR,

Filed Jan. 11, 1952 mmvrox. PAUL C. CONSOLETTI A TTORNE Y Patented Apr.27, 1954 Paul 0. .(lonsolettiilt lilfordpMass., assignor to DraperCorporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corporation 2131???? Application January11, 1952, Serial No. 265,951

' spams 139-88) 1 This inventionpertains toan improved connecting means.forming a part of loom harness frames and by which said frames areattached to the harness cords or similar'means by which the frames areactuated.

It is a general object of the invention to devise a simple connectingmeans. of the type described which shall be adjustable withinlimits,easily attachable to or detached from its cord or the like, and whichshall further have as a cooperating part thereof a locking means adaptedto. serve the multiple function of maintaining the adjusted positionofthe connectingmeans and also,.of. preventing unintended detachment ofthe cordsor the like.

Other objects and the manner in which the invention is to be put intopractice will'be apparent from the following more detailed description.

Looms for weaving are provided with two or more harness frames carryingnumerous heddles through which are threaded warpthreads. These;

frames are reciprocated in a manner known to those conversant with theart through connections in the form of cords, straps or the likewhichare attached by various forms ofconnectingmeansto the top andbottom railsof the frames. A simple form of hook is frequentlyutilized,'the same being threaded into the wood or other frame material.It is desirable that these hooks or eye screws beso disposed as to. bethreaded into or from the frame a few .turns for adjustment purposes andthat they be. locked ina particular adjusted position. To that end,according to'the prior art, the hook shanks have been flattened for ashortdistance, and a detent having a fork at one end for engaging theflattenedshank screwed to the frame. The detent has no other effect thanthat of preventing turn ing'of the threaded connector and, in the eventan adjustment is to be made, considerabletime and effort is involved inremoving the holding screw for the detent, effecting the adjustment, andthen returning the detent to position and inserting and tightening thescrew. I

' According to the invention, a simple eye screw or hook with a threadedshank or the like, is locked in position by a small, spring strip fixedat one end adjacent the eye or hook and having at its other end somesort of slot which is positioned to embrace the hooked portion of theconnection in a manner to prevent its turning and also, so as to preventunintended detachment of the cord or other harness member by which theframe is actuated. To release a cord for detachment or to free aconnector for adjustment, it is only necessary tov press the springlocking. member toward the .frame .rail. After release, it immediatelysprings back to its normal locking position.

Theinvention will be described in greater. detail by reference to theaccompanying figures of drawing wherein practical forms of the inventionhavebeen shown- In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevationalviewofa harness frame.

to which the invention has been applied.

. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing one form which the invention maytake. Figs.-3 and 4 are views similarto Fig. 2, but showing other formsof the invention. Now referring to Fig. l, a harness is normallycomprised of top and bottom rails l0 and! I tied together attheir endsto struts I2 and I3 to form a rigid rectangular structure. The rails arefrequently of wood and the struts of metal, but other materials areemployed and for the purposes of this invention the materials arenot ofimportance. A plurality of heddles M are threaded onto and carried byheddle bars l5 and 16 supported at their ends in the struts I2 and I3,and intermediate their ends by hangers H at appropriately spacedintervals. Other heddle supporting means are commonly used and thatherein shown is merely given by way of illustration. r

At-a point adjacent each end of both the top and bottomrails provisionis made for connecting the frame unit to harness cords, straps or thelike which run to top or other motions and to harness cam and treadlemeans all in a manher well known and a description of which need not-begiven here. These cords are designated at l8 and terminate in a, loop orother connecting faciilty which shall be complementary to the connectingmeans of the frame and which is subject matter of the instant invention.Eachco'rd attaches to a hooked member I9 and is locked againstunintended release by a spring member 20 which also prevents turning ofthe hooked member. 7

To illustrate in greater detail, and referring to Fig. 2, a hookedconnector [9 comprising the hooked end 2| and threaded shank 22 isscrewed into the wood or other material of the rail ID. The shank 22 isas long as required for holding and also provides for a small amount ofadjustment in levellin th frame. Of course, there are other ways toadjust the position and limits of movement of the mechanism, and thisadjustment serves as a final means of effecting a slight alteration inthe relationship of the parts, and incidentally, a simple and veryspeedy one.

The hooked part of the connector is desirably to be maintained directedas shown in order to avoid interference. It is also desired that onceset, the position of a hook will not become changed during normaloperation. The spring lock 20 is attached by screw 23 to the rail 10 andis so formed that normally it maintains the position it occupies in Fig.2. The free end of the locking member is slotted as at 24, this slotbeing a free fit over the hooked end 2|. The slot might be open ended,but that is not preferred. When a hook, ring or other complementaryconnector at the end of cord I8 is to be attached, the member 20 ispressed toward the rail I until the open end of the hook is exposed forthe reception .7

of the ring or the like. When the parts are linked together the lock isreleased and it immediately snaps back to hook closing position.

Similarly, if an adjustment is to be made the lock is pressed toward therail until the slot is freed from the hooked end. One or more turns ofthe hook in either direction may be made as required whereupon the lockmay be released and will automatically spring back to its normalposition.

A whole or a half turn. may be made, the length of slot 24 beingsufficient to accommodate the hook when headed in either direction.

Now referring to Fig. 3, similar parts are indicated by like numeralswith primes. The

spring locking member here is of different shapeand is considerablystiffer if of the same gauge material. It has two slots 25 and 26 so itmay not be sprung out beyond the hook loop. It'lS adapted to functionwith an open hooked member only and when adjustments are -made they are21, and the terms slotted strip, locking means,v

etc., refer to the parts 20, 28 or fair equivalents thereof as coveredby the appended claims.

It is to be understood that attaching meanssubject matter of the casemay be used at all points of connection of the harness to the frame, orat some only of those points.

While eye screws or hooks such as these are well adapted to be threadedinto wood, they may be of the type to thread into metal-rails or intometal or other inserts or the like held in the material of the rail inany convenient manner. Normally but not necessarily, adjustment of ahook involves disconnecting a cord therefrom.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beendisclosed, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limitedthereto. This patent is, therefore, not to be limited other than isnecessary by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. For loom harness frames which have top and bottom rails to which areconnected harness cords, an improved harness cord attaching means whichcomprises a hooked member threadedly connected to a rail of the frameand adapted to receive a complementary attaching portion of a harnesscord, and means to prevent unintended detachment of the cord and formaintaining the and bottom rails to which are connected harness cords,an improved harness cord attaching means which comprises a hooked memberhaving a threaded shank for engagement in a rail of the frame andadapted to receive a complementary attaching portion of a harness cord,and a means to prevent unintended detachment of the cord and formaintaining the hooked member in a predetermined, adjusted position,said means comprising a resilient strip attached at one end to the frameat a point adjacent the said hooked member, the opposite end of saidstrip defining a slot of length and width sufficient to embrace thehooked portion of the member and to prevent rotation thereof as long asthe slotted strip is in engagement therewith, said opposite end beingrelatively free and normally'maintained by the resilience of the stripin position to engage the hooked portion of the hooked member.

3. Mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said hooked member is openfor the reception of the complementary attaching means.

4. Mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said hooked member is formedas a substantially.

closed eye.

v5. Mechanism as defined in claim'z wherein said resilient'strip isprovided with a slot divided intermediate its ends so one part thereofembraces the hook shank while the-other embraces the hook end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberKaufmann July'l, 1952'

